Neo's words hung in the air, barely creating any impression against the nighttime sounds of the city that filtered through into the apartment. In fact, it took Setsuka a moment to realise that he had even spoken; to separate the sound of actual speech from her latent fears.
But once the words finally registered she flung herself out of his embrace, more or less off the futon, with the bed sheets still clutched about her. Neo made to move towards her, to sooth her panic only to find himself staring down the business end of a standard Agent issue Desert Eagle.
"Setsuka…" he began.
She glared at him. Though obviously unnerved, her slim arm didn't waver under the weight of the gun.
Neo smiled a little and raised his hands in a parody of surrender. He was 'the One' after all and there was very little she could do against him, they both knew that.
Almost as if sensing his complacency her finger tightened on the trigger.
"Somehow I don't think you'll be able to dodge bullets at this range, Mr Anderson."
In the scant light of the apartment where Brown and Jones had remained neither needed any clear illumination to see that the other had sat forward in their respective seats, awaiting any immediate command from Smith. Not even the sound of simulated breathing could be heard to disturb the anticipatory hush.
After a long silence Brown's puzzled tones were heard. "What is she doing?"
Jones ignored him, straining to hear anything through the communication channels.
Neo stared. 'Mr Anderson.' She had called him 'Mr Anderson'. He tried to shrug it off; most likely all Agents were programmed will the same speech patterns so it was the obvious form of address for him. So what if it made her sound like… like a certain Agent… the late Agent Smith.
Who had exploded…
"You knew…" Setsuka's voice was shaky, though her grip on the gun was still steady.
Neo forced himself to focus on her, rather than the disturbing comparison.
"I knew." He confirmed.
"All this time… How long, Neo? How long have you known that I'm not human?"
"I…"
"You knew from the start didn't you?" and there was a sudden sadness in her voice.
"Yes."
She began to laugh, shakily. "All along… I guess that makes me a fool then."
"No, no." his voice was hushed.
"Have you been laughing at me all this time?" the question sounded rhetorical.
"I'm not laughing at you. Please, Setsuka…"
"Three times over I've been a fool. So I guess the joke is on me." Her gaze dropped. Her arm began to lower.
Neo moved forwards, towards her. Setsuka's gaze snapped back towards him, the gun now pointed at him again, only an inch or so from his chest.
"You're right. I can't dodge bullets from this range."
"Shoot him!" Brown snarled, surprised at his own vehemence.
Jones ignored the other Agent. If Smith was going to shoot Anderson then he would and if he wasn't, then he wouldn't; and there was nothing that either himself or Brown could do about it
"Why doesn't he just shoot the human?" Brown demanded.
Jones pondered the same question, though silently and didn't find a satisfactory answer.
Setsuka began to tremble as once again the tears started. She didn't raise her head as Neo took the gun from her slack fingers. He didn't touch her, putting the weapon aside and just watching; and she wrapped her arms around herself, crying quietly.
There was an uncertain pause as Neo shuffled closer, hesitantly putting his arms around her.
Holding Setsuka as she cried was a strange experience. Neo couldn't ever recall any time when he'd really had to care for someone else like this. He'd never had to comfort anyone who'd been so helpless in his arms.
It was odd enough to start with but added to that was the fact that she was an Agent, an enemy of the rebels, an enslaver of humanity; a heartless, soulless machine and yet… Here she was, crying in his arms because she thought that no one cared. Perhaps the machines weren't as different as he had thought: not if they were given the chance.
There was a sniff and Setsuka wiped the back of a hand across her eyes. She made to pull away but Neo didn't let her.
"Do you… do you hate me?" her voice dropped to a whisper at the last two words.
"No."
"But… but…" she stared up at him, disbelieving.
"I don't hate you, Setsuka."
That earned him a hesitant smile. Neo smiled back, reassuringly.
"Even though…" she couldn't bring herself to finish the statement.
"Even though?"
She buried her head against his chest.
"Even thought you're an Agent?"
The slight movement of her head against his chest was the only response.
"You don't hate me, do you, Neo?"
"No. I already said that." He repeated gently.
"Even though I kept trying to kill you…before?"
"Before?"
"Yes."
"You mean you were…"
Setsuka looked up at Neo and he found himself picturing her clear blue eyes that he couldn't truly see in the shadows.
He remembered the first time he'd seen her in the park, remembered her removing her sunglasses and transfixing him with that serious, slightly melancholy gaze. He'd experienced a certain sense of déjà vu at the time; certain that he'd had that calm gaze turned on him before. Blue eyes, serious and faintly sad in the look they'd held him with.
"You are going to help us, Mr Anderson, whether you want to or not."
"You're Agent Smith!" Neo stiffened, expending a great deal of effort to stop himself from jumping up and running away.
"Yes."
"Does it really matter if Anderson knows that it is Smith or not?" Brown frowned at his own question.
"Evidently it does." Jones was calm as ever.
"I do not understand." Brown tried to question further but this time Jones didn't reply.
Setsuka let Neo move away, remaining on the floor watching him. Neo backed away a little before standing up.
"I…" he began, not really knowing what he was going to say.
"Need to get out for a while?"
"Yeah, just to sort things out."
"I can leave if you wish, Neo." She said softly.
"No! No. Stay here, I won't be gone long."
"Neo…"
"Just wait for a bit. I promise I'll come back."
Neo hunted round for his clothes and tugged them on without looking at her again. After a few moments of watching him dress Setsuka moved to sit back on the bed, wrapped in the sheets still. Once dressed Neo moved over to the futon. He smiled a little and bent down to kiss her.
"I'll be back in a bit, OK. Just don't go anywhere." And he was heading out of the door back into the remaining hours of night.
"Neo…" Setsuka sighed, raising fingers to her lips as if to feel the faint traces of his kiss.
"What-" Brown began for the umpteenth time that evening. Jones opened his mouth to actually suggest that Brown might be best advised to keep quiet when Smith's voice interrupted through the communication channels.
"Trace Anderson's movements and send Agents to intercept him."
"Send other Agents?" Jones queried.
"That is not advisable. All Agents that have come into contact with Anderson have been terminated." Brown interjected.
"That is why you will direct others to Anderson's whereabouts, Brown."
"They will be little challenge to the human."
"Perhaps they are not meant to be." Jones raised an eyebrow, as the sound of Smith's laughter carried through the communication channels.
So this isn't the chapter I was imagining, well I'll probably write than one next. This is a bit of a short chapter too.
As for where Setsuka gets the Desert Eagle from… she's an Agent, they can most likely just manipulate the Matrix to access their standard weaponry.
03:22, 5/10/02